Apartment Reconstruction, Shanghai

About the Project

The original area was only 40 square meters, but needed to accommodate functional areas for daily living, storage, office, entertainment and so on. To make best use of the space, TOWOdesign designed several "function boxes" to integrate daily functions, and put them inside the space. Innovative activity areas were created between function boxes. The apartment changed from a space consists of regular room to a flowing space consisting of continuous space outside one box.However, some contradictions appeared after placing the boxes in this small space, especially the box for entertainment, it blocked the entire flow line and view of the whole space. Therefore, TOWOdesign made some adjustment to the previous design. They rotated all the functional boxes by 10 degrees; in this way, said problems were all solved perfectly. Mirror elements also apply in details to reduce the sense of oppression of a small space. Part of the original pillars and walls is left and exposed to show the outline of the building. At the same time, after emphasized, these pillars were exactly a reference to the 10 degree rotation, making the space more interesting. While respecting the nature of space, TOWO magically enlarged the space through creative and practical design methods.

What’s unique about it

It is the ordinary method taken by TOWOdesign to embody value in the spatial location and generatrix of space, and use the simplest rules to optimize the spatial functions and feelings in reconstruction. They also applied it to the design of an economical residence in the central urban area of Shanghai, where land is limited; the space was extended dramatically through a 10 degree rotation. The original area was only 40 square meters, but needed to accommodate functional areas for daily living, storage, office, entertainment and so on. To make best use of the space, TOWOdesign designed several "function boxes" to integrate daily functions, and put them inside the space. Innovative activity areas were created between function boxes. The apartment changed from a space consists of regular room to a flowing space consisting of continuous space outside one box. The yellow kitchen cabinet is the center of the entire flowing space. This change eliminates the sense of depression and also expands the space. While respecting the nature of space, TOWO magically enlarged the space through creative and practical design methods.